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Ghost Month
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival, or Yu Lan (盂蘭) is a traditional Chinese festival and holiday celebrated by Chinese in many countries. In the Chinese calendar (a lunisolar calendar), the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month (14th in southern China). In Chinese tradition, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month ( ), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm. Distinct from both the Qingming Festival (in spring) and Chung Yeung Festival (in autumn) in which living descendants pay homage to their deceased ancestors, on Ghost Day, the deceased are believed to visit the living. On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic food offerings, burning incense, and burning joss paper, a papier-mâché form of material items such as clothes, gold and other fine goods for the visiting spirits of the ancestors. Elaborate meals (often vegetarian meals) would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family treating the deceased as if they are still living. Ancestor worship is what distinguishes Qingming Festival from Ghost Festival because the latter includes paying respects to all deceased, including the same and younger generations, while the former only includes older generations. Other festivities may include, buying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities. Concert-like performances are a prominent feature of the Ghost Festival in Singapore and Malaysia. Those live concerts are popularly known as Getai 'Koh-tai' by Hokkien-speaking people. They are performed by groups of singers, dancers and entertainers on a temporary stage that is set up within a residential district. The festival is funded by the residents of each individual district. During one of these 'Getai', it is known to be bad luck to sit on the front row of red seats, as they are there only for the Ghosts themselves. If anyone were to sit on them, they would become sick or similarly ailed. In Singapore, people would pray to ghosts/Spirits or ancestors with offerings and fruits outside their homes for the start of the 7th month. Most patriotic events were held on 7th Month for Singapore, which includes general and presidential elections, the Olympics and the National Day Parade. This is where the number of outings were minimised. On the 15th, Concert-like performances are a prominent feature of the Ghost Festival in Singapore and Malaysia. Those live concerts are popularly known as Getai 'Koh-tai' by Hokkien-speaking people. They are performed by groups of singers, dancers, entertainers and opera troops or puppet shows on a temporary stage that is set up within a residential district. The festival is funded by the residents of each individual district. Category:Holidays